


Family ain’t who you’re born with. It’s who you die for.

by BiancaIcaras



Category: Kingsman (Movies), RocknRolla (2008)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Light Swearing, M/M, Merlot - Freeform, Mission Fic, Mission Related, Roxlin - Freeform, Swearing compliant with fandoms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-12 22:33:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15350202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BiancaIcaras/pseuds/BiancaIcaras
Summary: Kingsman needs help from someone who knows all of London. Or more specifically, they need their contacts. Trying to find a lost package on their own is a right pain, so Eggsy thinks of the only people who seem to have ears and eyes all over London; old Lenny Cole’s gang. Once they’ve made contact, they team up to find the weapon before its recipient finds out what it is and sells it to the wrong people.In the meantime, Eggsy relives some of the time he spent under Dean’s roof and being part of Tank’s network, while Roxy teams up with Handsome Bob to finally get Merlin to admit he has other feelings for her than just mentor-trainee. Many misunderstandings later, will they save the world with the London Underground and find love in unexpected places?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for the Kingsman BigBang. Art by istillcantforgetyou.tumblr.com !
> 
> Many thanks to my beta; sircarolyn for fixing my tenses and the wonderful comments!
> 
> Hope you enjoy and do let me know what you think in the comments or hit me up on Tumblr.

Chapter One

“Well, mark me down as scared AND horny” Roxy couldn’t help herself from whispering to Eggsy at the sight before them as they walked into what Roxy assumed usually was a rather quiet bar. She got a double take in return, Eggsy turning his head fast enough that it would have hurt a less athletic man.

“What the hell?! How can you have those two emotions, at a time, watching THAT?!” he whispered back, sounding frantic despite the volume of his voice. Roxy shrugged, still looking forward and not meeting Eggsy’s eyes.

“Shut up, they’ll stop in a minute if you keep drawing attention to us” she said quietly. Eggsy huffed out a breath but kept quiet nonetheless.

He knew Roxy had a point, but it still stung a bit. He was still sore from not fitting into their cohort in training, being the only one without all the higher education the others had had. Being told to shut up more times then he cared to count after his dad died, the trend continued during the training, making it one of his sore points. But it was something he was working on with the Kingsman therapists. Coming from Roxy, it was understandable, which made him actually shut up without starting an argument about it.

Roxy’s comment didn’t make much difference to the brawlers in front of them, who were not in any way paying attention to the two young spies watching a small fight between two men turn into a proper barfight, flying stools and all.

After a few minutes, Roxy and Eggsy had had enough of playing gooseberry and decided to break the fight up with a shared look. Eggsy put his fingers to his mouth and whistled hard. That startled most of them into looking over to the source of the noise and stopped them trying to punch each other’s lights out.

“Right, you lot done now? Enough testosterone out of your systems or do I need to come over there and slap some sense into you?”

The low chuckle that one of the men before them as he let go of the bloke he was pummelling into the floor gave at her words made Roxy frown.

“Something funny, mate?” Eggsy asked, ready to kick his ass if Roxy didn’t beat him to it.

“Well, I’m pretty sure that I’m the best at slapping sense into people, love, despite the seemingly expensive training you’ve had” a dark voice said from behind her. “And Bob would know, wouldn’t he?”

Roxy was sure that she didn’t telegraph her next move, but just before her hand made contact with the man behind her, Eggsy stopped her. She almost broke his arm for stopping her out of instinct, before she saw the look he had on his face. It was sheer disbelief, something she hadn’t seen since Merlin wiping the floor with Charlie using only his clipboard on one of the first days of their sparring fortnight during training.

“Archy?” he asked at the same time the man stepped into the light of the main floor of the pub from the office behind the bar. Roxy dropped her arm, turning to look behind her to make sure none of the men behind her tried anything while their backs were turned. She didn’t need to worry; they had all found a place to sit or hang off the bar at the entrance of this mysterious man. The one that had chuckled had taken one of the few remaining barstools that were still in one piece and was just grinning at Roxy and the other man. The rest of them looked like they’d been caught stealing cookies from the kitchen by their mothers. When she turned back, she had to stop herself from frowning and repeating her earlier comment. 

Before them was someone who looked very much like Merlin, only with more hair and a certain other air around him. He seemed as dangerous as their quartermaster, but in a very different way. For one thing, he was wearing a suit with a striped, cotton shirt and not a woollen jumper plus a sizable signet ring on his right hand. He felt like someone who didn’t have to fight that much, but could hold his own with ease. If she didn’t know for a fact that Merlin was sitting at his desk at HQ, she could have bet serious money that it was him and he had gone the extra mile to go undercover and completely blend in with the low-level villains they had come to seek out.

“Hello Eggsy” the stranger said, holding out his hand for Eggsy to shake. Eggsy blinked but shook it after a few seconds. “Would have sworn you wouldn’t come back here after kicking Dean all over the Black Knight. I told Fred his brother was trouble, but Michelle never…”

“Yeah, well, I’m not here for all of that” Eggsy said cutting him off, letting go of Archy’s hand. Roxy took it as a cue to take over the conversation when she saw his jaw clench at Archy’s words.

“Yes, we’re here on business” she said, putting as much steel into her voice as she could.

Their business today consisted of retrieving a package. An organisation that Kingsman was following dropped off a chemical weapon at an Underground station. Before they could get to it themselves, it was taken by someone by mistake. Unfortunately the courier made off with the suitcase before Percival could get to him. It was decided that Kingsman needed to stop it being used, but lacked manpower to find the man, Merlin unable to find him on CCTV either. Eggsy had suggested seeking out a particular gang he knew from the estate, who’s boss would be willing to help, if for a fee. That is how they had ended up here, in one of the many dingy bars around the City.

The man seemed to size her up, nodding at her words.

“I can see that. Nice and posh clothes you got on, so I’m sure you aren’t here because of anything to do with the police, am I right? They don’t have the budget for bespoke trousers.”

Eggsy snorted. “Really Archy? You’d think I’d join the feds? Come on, you know better than that.”

That teased a sly smile out of the man. “True enough. But you ain’t a tailor either, are you?”

“Leave the boy be Arch, I’m sure he’ll tell us all we need to know if he wants us to help” came from one of the brawlers.

Archy visibly subsided, spreading his arms and taking a step back to lean against the side of the bar. “Whatever you say boss.”

“Boss?” Roxy blurted out. Eggsy sighed and rolled his eyes at her exclamation. “Right professional, you are” he said, while the other man walked up the stairs towards them.  
“Well, he was the one who started the fight, didn’t he? Not many heads of organisations like these do that, now, do they?” Roxy couldn’t help but argue. Thankfully the ‘boss’ coming over to them saved Eggsy from replying to her.

“No, they usually don’t, but I’m special” he said while shaking their hands. He took a step back, squinting at Eggsy. “You remember me?” he asked after a few tense seconds of him and Eggsy exchanging looks.

Eggsy nodded. “Yeah, I do. Decided to quit the music business eventually, did you? Heard your old man left you most of his empire, so to speak.”

His comment had a few reactions at the same time. Archy stopped leaning and took up position next to his boss in two long strides. The men in the pub all pretended to be interested in their drinks again to cover their obvious reluctance to get involved in the rest of the conversation. Bob shook his head, turning back to his drink after a short look of pity at Roxy crossed his face and the ‘boss’ started laughing. Roxy looked over to Eggsy in surprise. She wondered how his comment had seemingly amused the boss while making Archy defensive and the rest of the crowd keen to make sure they were no part of how this went down any more. Meanwhile the corners of Eggsy’s mouth went up slightly. He winked at Roxy; a signal that he had it in hand, probably knew what was going on and wasn’t worried for their safety very much anymore.

“What do you know about that?” Archy demanded to know, stepping forward.

Eggsy shrugged. “All I know is that one day Lenny wasn’t around anymore. Neither were most of his gorillas, or you, ever around the Speeler. Dean coming home one day swearing up a storm about not getting credit and some of his runners actually having to serve their sentences. I’m not a complete idiot Archy, and word eventually gets ‘round. About Johnny taking over, that is. Would have thought you would have retired by now.”

“It’s not like it’s a big bloody state secret Arch, for fuck’s sake. It’s been years. Of course he fucking knows. The whole of fucking London has known for a while now” Johnny said, cutting in front of whatever Archy was about to reply. “What I wanna know, is what he’s doing back here again when he obviously has gone up in the world as well.”

At that moment Roxy heard Merlin open her channel on her glasses. She wasn’t sure if he just happened to have impeccable timing or decided to listen in to make sure they weren’t in over their heads. He had a habit of doing that lately, something Roxy found cute and horribly irritating at the same time. It’s not like they hadn’t saved the world several times over, and in her case even getting back from being blown up. She stopped herself from sighing at the click in her ears, trying to focus back on the conversation.

Eggsy cracked a real smile at Johnny’s question. “Well, since you ask. We’re looking for something that went missing. Seeing we don’t have anywhere near the manpower you have on the streets to find it anytime soon, I suggested to my boss we’d come seek you out.”

“Why did you come to me, and not Tank?” The other man seemed curious now, while Archy had backed down a little, moving back to the side of his boss.

“Oh, I went to see him. But he said he wouldn’t get mixed up in it. He’s got enough trouble with the law for now, with them cracking down on most of his network for the coming tourist season. Trying to go semi-legal, you know? Told me you might be able to be of service” Eggsy answered easily. It made Merlin swear in her ear. She nor him even knew he had already tried to make contact with this side of London, only that he suggested it when the Table met to discuss the issue yesterday. Neither did she really know much about how he would know any of these people so well. She’d give him a grilling later and by the sound of it, so would Merlin. For now she kept her face impassive.

Archy and Johnny shared a look. Archy still looked sceptical, but Johnny shrugged and waved his hand.

“Well then, what is it? Dangerous, I suppose? Usually is with you lot. Always knew James Bond was complete bollocks. Jack Bauer usually more in the right direction, yeah?”

Roxy saw Eggsy blink and knew she had to step in before he made it too personal. JB was still a sore point.

“Never said we were from any kind of governmental agency, now did we? We work for a private company, who just simply wants back what was stolen. Nothing more, nothing less” she said, daring Johnny or Archy to contradict her.

Johnny laughed at that, pushing Archy with his shoulder. “You hear that Arch? She didn’t answer my question, but made sure I know what she’s about.” He took a step forward and held out his hand. “I like it. And I’ve always liked Eggsy here as well. You’re on. Let Arch here know what you need and he’ll slap some sense into that lot behind me. We’ll find it for you. Mind you, there IS going to be a finders fee, alright? Pints won’t pay for themselves.”

Roxy shook his hand before Eggsy could derail the whole thing again. “Fine by us.” She took out an envelope from her jacket pocket with the information packet Merlin had put together for them to use. “This is all you need to know. Our number’s in there so you can contact us when you find it.”

By then Eggsy had pulled himself together again, moving towards the door with a nod to Johnny and Archy.

“And yours?” Bob asked from the bar when Roxy made to join him. She grinned at him before turning around towards the door.

“You have to earn that one with more than just a smile and a promise letting me slap some sense into you, dear” she said, pushing Eggsy out the door before he could react to her comment. It didn’t stop her from getting an earful from him in the cab back to the tailor’s, but it was worth it for hearing Merlin choke on his tea in her ear at the comment. ‘Oh yes, this is going to be fun’ she thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

A day or so later Merlin got a call from Johnny on his landline saying they had found who had it. And if they needed any help, the Wild Bunch was open to lend their services. Johnny didn’t do much of the real work anymore he’d said, but the boys might be up for a job for a small token of appreciation. Merlin had told him he needed to think about it, but already knew that this was going to be a job where they needed people who blended into the less obviously legal parts of life in the Capitol. Eggsy had turned into a real gentleman from his street rat beginnings, so he would do, but this was more than a one man job. So he briefly discussed it with Harry, the new Arthur, ringing back Johnny an hour after their first contact. He would pass the message on. 

20 minutes later Mumbles rang back, saying they could meet that evening or the next morning. They decided on the next morning and Merlin hung up with a small worry niggling in the back of his mind. Since Poppy he had found it more difficult to send anyone out in the field, let alone himself, but he knew that they did what they did to save other innocent lives. Everyone on the Table and in the mostly reconstructed organisation made their choice to make sure that their efforts wouldn’t be for nothing, so Merlin couldn’t let himself take that choice from them by pulling out now. But it did make him cautious about what matter they would take up and weigh the risks longer than before.

“So, you lot do small jobs for Johnny then?” Roxy finally asked the men around the small table in the tiny bar when they decided to take a break from making plans about how to get their package back.

Since discussing anything like this was out of the question at the tailor shop, Archy and Eggsy had arranged for the meeting between Roxy and the Wild Bunch to take place in the Speeler. It had taken some arguing, at high volume, to even let her have the meeting on her own, let alone without backup. Harry was on the fence about it, Eggsy was for it, as was Roxy but Merlin had come up with several reasons why it was a bad idea. They started out semi-sensible, soon turning to nothing more than him being overprotective. Someday soon she was going to push him into telling her why the hell he kept treating her with kid gloves, but for now she’d relented when Eggsy said he trusted Roxy to stand her own and Merlin had more important things to deal with in the meantime, so couldn’t come along to mind Roxy or pretend she needed a bodyguard against the Wild Bunch. He had pulled Merlin towards the door by his arm after Harry said Eggsy had a point and ok-ed Roxy to go prepare herself. She stood right away, making a beeline for their makeshift armory, not looking back at Merlin, still sputtering at Eggsy’s treatment while Harry tutted at him.

One-Two looked over to Mumbles, who shrugged. Handsome Bob kept looking at Roxy with a crooked smile, obviously curious about how to convince her to give him her number since she walked into Speeler on her own. Outright asking was beneath him, obviously.

“Not really. We helped him out with a certain situation and he sometimes helps people in our direction for jobs he doesn’t like his boys handling themselves. Otherwise we’re more of a law of our own” he said as an answer to Roxy’s inquiry.

“Bit of plausible deniability or something?” she replied, sitting back in her chair to pull on her beer.

“Nah, more like he’s more about the business side of this part of town, not about the thrills like the jobs we pull anymore.”

That seemed to be a cue for Bob to stop staring and join in with the conversation.

“And what about you love, how do you get your thrills in life?” he asked, grinning around his own bottle before taking a sip.

Roxy patted his leg. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that” she said with a wink.

When Bob tried to grab her hand, she slapped down on his instead, making it clear that she wasn’t having that from him just now. “Now now, be nice. If I want you to grab me like that, I’ll let you know. Shall we get back to our jobs again? That way I might be able to stay for another beer while you figure out how to behave around ladies before having to head back.”

Mumbles snorted and even One-Two couldn’t help but smile a little at their exchange. “Oh don’t worry about that, he knows how to behave around everyone. Just not very subtle is our Bob, right?” Mumbles said while patting Bob on the cheek. Bob made like he was going to bite his fingers, prompting Mumbles to stick up his hands in defeat. “See what I mean?” he asked Roxy with a wink.

“Alright, alright, enough messing about. Let’s get this done. Some of us have other plans today” One-Two said before Mumbles and Bob started wrestling next to the table as usual.

They subsided while Roxy drained her drink and put it on the bar behind her. They finalised their plans in no time at all to have three options once they knew who had it. One was breaking into a house with or without a safe by Roxy while they distracted the inhabitant. At Roxy’s mentioning her burglary skills, all three men looked at her in surprise. She only shrugged and said: “Being petite is a plus when you have to scale 20 stories”. The second option was getting it from whoever has it when it got taken from of where it might be. The third intercepting the eventual exchange by taking the place of its intended recipient. Roxy was pleased to see that they did know what they were about. Before long they had worked out several distractions, One-Two had offered his services as pick pocketer and Mumbles could get a decoy package if they had to switch it out. As far as she could tell, between them they had all the angles covered rather soon. She had reservations about working with them, but Eggsy had assured her that they only took from people who could afford to lose whatever the Wild Bunch took.

Dean had been a right piece of work who mostly only intimidated everyone into getting whatever he wanted, usually from people who were struggling anyway. Eggsy told her he had picked up the knack for figuring out which one someone was real quick on his estate one wine filled evening, but had left it at that when she pressed him. Merlin had looked into it after V-Day and before they contacted the gang and only found some minor convictions with indeed only victims who were anything but innocent bystanders. He wasn’t ecstatic about it, but it would have to do.

One-Two didn’t stay much longer after they were done, Mumbles and Bob offering her another drink. She ordered the most expensive beer they had in the house, which they paid happily to “keep enjoying her company for a while more” Mumbles assured her.

The two of them mostly tried to get her to tell more about Kingsman (which she refused), herself (ditto) and what her relationship with Eggsy was (she kept that equally vague). They weren’t afraid to talk about their lives much, trying to impress her with their antics over the years. Halfway through her drink Mumbles got a call and excused himself. Bob took the opportunity to simply stare at Roxy while she purposefully ignored him. Not that she really wanted to start anything with him beyond maybe a one night stand, but it was fun to use some of her skills out of the field. It felt good to do it with many lives hanging in the balance. Not having to flirt and banter with someone because she HAD to was rare so she treasured moments like these in secret. Just as he drew breath to say something, Mumbles came back into the room.

“Your boyfriend wants a word” he said, thrusting his phone at Bob. The man in question sighed and took it, covering the mouthpiece with his hand.

“Sorry love, he’s a bit possessive at times. Been fun talking to you, if I don’t come back before you leave” he said, winking at Roxy while getting a push from Mumbles to get going. Roxy could hear the man on the other side asking where Bob was before he put the phone to his ear and walking off towards the storeroom.

“Yes, I’m here, you can stop yelling now” she could hear him say before closing the door.

She turned towards Mumbles, who had taken his seat again and shrugged at her enquiring look.

“Are you serious? He’s been flirting with me all day” she finally asked.

Another shrug. “He does that with every girl he meets. Has a reputation to uphold, sort of. Most who know him well know he’s a bit of a flamer, but he doesn’t advertise it. One-Two is a bit sensitive about it, so he usually leaves when Bob puts the moves on anyone.”

“Are they…” she hesitantly asked.

Mumbles snickered. “Him and One-Two? Hell no. And if you don’t want to get on One-Two’s bad side, I wouldn’t make that suggestion to him personally. You wanna take another guess?” he asked, a twinkle in his eyes.

Roxy sat back and let her interactions with the men so far pass in her mind’s eye. She remembered Archy’s reply to her threatening to slap sense into Bob and made the connection instantly. Mumbles must have seen the realisation in her eyes. He nodded when she opened her mouth to comment.

“Don’t let too many people know will you. Bob doesn’t mind but Himself’s still a bit touchy about it. To anyone who didn’t see them snogging like teenagers one night outside Bob’s place anyway.”

Roxy nodded and raised her glass in a toast which Mumbles met with a smile.

“To the happy couple then, I’d say” she said, just as she heard her channel open with Merlin coughing softly to draw her attention. Putting up her finger out of her eyesight, Mumbles put down his glass and sat back on his seat again, smiling at her look of annoyance at being interrupted.

At the start of the meeting she had been honest in saying that although Kingsman wasn’t government funded, they did have some gear that was different than anything available on the open market. One included being able to communicate through their glasses. Merlin hadn’t expressly forbidden her to share the information, and she would be damned if she had to explain it mid-mission why she was talking to thin air. All three of them had wanted to try it as well, but Roxy knew that Merlin would only find it annoying and would chew her out later for it. For now she had decided to only make it known that the men knew that she was being ‘beeped’ and just talked whenever Merlin would contact her with them there.

“Anything urgent you need to interrupt me for Merlin?” she asked, sounding extra polite to convey her annoyance.

“Only checking in Lancelot. When are you thinking of returning to HQ? We still have other matters that need your attention” Merlin said curtly, not bothering to hide his annoyance at Roxy’s tone.

She huffed in reply, taking another sip from her drink. “Paperwork you mean. Yes, it’s vital I get that done today, is it? Since finding our mark will take a few days according to Archy, I thought to take it easy this afternoon after my meeting.”

Merlin sighed, although he would swear to anyone that it wasn’t a sigh at all, he wouldn’t stoop so low, pinching his nose. “Nevertheless, if you are done lounging about, I’d like to know what your agreed strategy is for this mission and I would like to know that asap” he said, voice crisp.

By then Bob came back from his call, giving the phone back to Mumbles. “Now, where were we, love? You ready to share whether or not I stand a chance yet?” he asked cheerfully. Mumbles almost spat out his drink, thankfully only just starting a new sip while Roxy could hear Merlin doing the same. ‘I’ll show him for trying to be a dick while I’ve done my job and just want to relax for a bit’ she thought to herself before turning her flirtiest smile in Bob’s direction.

“Depends on whether you buy me another drink or not, for starters” she says, raising up her glass in front her glasses so Merlin can see what she’s having.

“Lancelot…” Merlin started in her ear but she cut him off.

“Don’t you start Merlin, I’ve done what I needed to do already and there isn’t anything actually pressing that can’t wait until I’ve gotten to know dear Bob here a bit better. I’m sure you have better things to do then babysit me or annoy me with bloody paperwork that can certainly wait a few hours. I’ll let you know when I’m on my way. Lancelot out.” she said, clicking the button on her specs that terminated the connection. She quickly took them off and put them in the case she had in her purse. It was soundproof and made to withstand a bomb so Merlin wouldn’t be able to contact her again without resorting to using her mobile, which she planned on ignoring.

Bob took her glass to the bar while Mumbles clapped his hands. “Brilliant” was his only comment when Bob came back with her drink.

“You wanna tell me what that was about?” Bob asked when he sits down.

Roxy drained her old glass and took a sip of the second one before answering.

“Merlin’s being a bit of a worry wart at the moment. I don’t get why he thinks I’m still not able to handle anything by myself.”

“Might he be a bit of a misogynist? Or does he do this to Eggsy as well?” Mumbles asked.

“Look at you! Knowing fancy words like that!” Bob blurted out with a grin, punching Mumbles on the shoulder.

Roxy laughed at both of their antics while they resort to shoving each other with increasing intensity. After a few pushes that end up with Bob on the floor, next to his chair, Mumbles grinned and turned back to Roxy.

“Well?”

“You seriously want to know?” Roxy asked, not sure whether or not he’s still kidding.

“Yeah, we want to know” Bob replied while he got back onto his chair.

She sighed, having to think on how to formulate her answer. “No, he does this to Eggsy as well. Let me say he’s had a few bad experiences and he’s right to be worried when it gets really hairy, but he overdoes it.”

“Good” Bob and Mumbles both said. “Not the overreacting bit, but him not being a dick just because you’re a woman. Would hate to punch him in the face for you” Bob continued.

“I’d love to see you do that, I really would” Roxy said with a smile. “My knight in shining armour.” She almost swoons, prompting a giggle from Bob and a deep belly laugh from Mumbles.

They finished their drinks talking about more neutral topics. Roxy finally gathered up her notes and puts them in her bag half an hour later.

“Well boys, it’s been fun, but I really should get back to it. If only to debrief to our big boss. Here’s hoping Johnny’s snouts find who we need to rob soon, so we can get properly drunk. Without meddling supervisors in my ear to spoil the fun.”

Bob gave her a hug and Mumbles shook her hand. “See you, little samurai” Mumbles said before Roxy walks out the door, back to Saville Row. She could get one of the cabs to pick her up, but she preferred to take the Tube at the moment. Even though it was stuffy and loud, she’d have to time to think without Merlin trying to reach her. Sitting down, eventually, she checked her phone and was surprised to see a text message from Merlin.

“Message received. Won’t contact you again unless on a mission. Apologies.”

Her anger at him butting in evaporated in seconds. She thought about replying but decided against it. She’d get him a cup of tea for their meeting that afternoon instead. That should do with letting him know she appreciated him. But not too much. She sighed. This crush of hers was getting ridiculous. Shaking her head at her own thoughts, she put her phone away and concentrated on trying to figure out where everyone would get off before her stop. That would keep her mind busy and off a certain wizard, right?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The other things Merlin was dealing with while Roxy had a meeting with the Wild Bunch were plentiful. Eggsy had had a point, loathe he might be to admit it to the other man. The last trainings cohort that would complete the Table again was on its last legs with the final six candidates. That meant that Merlin would still spend half the day testing them while his training team had taken over his duties for their general fitness. He was preparing the HALO jump to take place in two days, weather permitting, while they were on a hike during the days in between. Once he was done with that, he had a lunch meeting with the infamous Archy. They needed to go over the payment for the services of Johnny’s gang and iron out some confidentiality agreements. Not that any of them were snitches (Merlin knew what had happened to Lenny Cole through his own contacts in the legal circles of the capital and some mild hacking), but it never hurt to be careful. Especially since Charlie selling them out, Merlin made sure they were watertight and that there were safeguards in place that were similar to Valentine’s system. Not that he would blow anyone else’s head up, but there would be a serum released that was based on their amnesia darts when someone risked the secrecy of Kingsman. Eggsy had called him paranoid but Harry had been all for it. His experience with Whiskey didn’t help his bias, but even without it, he would have been for finding a way to ensure Kingsman’s status as a secret organisation anyway.

Before leaving for the city, Merlin felt he should check in with Roxy. ‘No, Lancelot’. He still was chiding himself at least once a day or thinking of her that way. It was useless to keep up this idea that she might actually be interested in more than being a coworkers, he kept telling himself, but the thought of ‘what if’ kept creeping up on him. It was unprofessional, even if Eggsy and Harry had a hard time concealing their relationship in company which didn’t seem to faze any of the other Knights. ‘No,’ he said to himself, ‘this is just checking progress on a meeting that is crucial for our next mission. That’s all.’

Of course when he fell smack in the middle of Lancelot clearly being done with the meeting and flirting heavily with one of their new, temporary, compatriots, his blood boiled. He had expected her explaining the spectacles to them, since they would see her use them anyway, but not for her to be so at ease with someone who was obviously only out for a one night stand while she deserved much better than that. Before he could make his point, mainly that she was better than the grinning idiot currently in front of her, she cut him off and ended the connection. His brain took a few seconds to catch up, making him look like a gaping fish for half a minute before he could close his mouth. He opened the connection again, only to hear a feedback of his own breathing and a black screen. She had put the glasses away then. Raising himself up in his chair and exhaling loudly, he tried to make himself turn off his workstation and actually leave his office for the meeting he was supposed to go to in about 2 minutes. Instead he took off his glasses and looked at his own reflection in his screen.

“You’re utterly hopeless, you Scottish idiot, aren’t you?” he asked his reflection but got no reply. Seeing that this wasn’t going to be something that would go away soon or would be fixed before Roxy, no, Lancelot, came back to the office at the time she felt was prudent, he put his glasses back on and got up to leave.

 

30 minutes later he was sitting in front of someone that could have been him, if he had existed in an alternate universe where he was born in London and the hair-gods had not made him go bald at age 35. He understood now that it hadn’t been a trick of the light, or lack thereof in the grimy pub that Galahad had taken Lancelot to. He had described it as the perfect place to find the people that would help find the stolen parcel in a quarter of the time that it would take them. Since Poppy the network that Kingsman had built up again in the capital so far wasn’t near it’s old strength. It really was like he had a twin. Archy on the other hand, didn’t seem fazed about their similarities.

“Did you never hear that theory about everyone having a twin somewhere around the world?” was his only reply to the frown Merlin wore the second they shook hands. “I know, we ain’t been that far apart, as far as I know, but still, it happens. You want a drink or something?” Archy asked, waving for Merlin to sit at the table he had just stood up from to greet Merlin. Sitting down, Merlin ordered a cup of tea off the waitress who had materialised at his elbow the second he sat down. “So, you’re the money man then?” Archy asked, looking slightly weary at Merlin’s surprised look when he started speaking.

“Not as such, no” Merlin ventured, slowly getting his usual unflappable demeanour back. He cleared his throat and focused on what he actually came to discuss. Pulling the documents for the NDAs out of his bag, he took the short time of not having to meet Archy’s eye to get his mind back on track.

“Cause you kind of look like an accountant, if I’m honest. Not that that’s a bad thing, but still. Don’t suppose you get much of the action your lad and girl get” Archy said, wanting to keep some of the conversation flowing while also trying to find out if Merlin would give away some more information about what kind of organisation they worked for than either Roxy or Eggsy had done. Johnny was fine with not knowing, which according to him “made sure you can’t grass on anyone if you don’t know much about them”. Seeing it differently, mostly because that didn’t apply the other way around, Archy was keen about finding out more about their new employer, even if it was only for one single job.

That comment made Merlin look up and arch an eyebrow at the other man. “You hopefully don’t think that was a compliment, right?” he asked.

Archy shrugged. “You can take it either way. If you’re anything like me, you would be on the sidelines, but definitely in on any action going on. But of course, every organisation runs things differently. Bet your boss is less of a loose cannon than mine though.”

Merlin huffed out a breath. “Bet he isn’t. But before we get caught up in trying outdo each other, let’s get down to business first.”

Archy hid his disappointment about not being able to draw out Merlin some more, but would play ball for now. That would only help later on, he knew from experience. He clapped his hands, sitting back on his seat. “Yes, alright. Bragging later. What do you want to start with?” he asked, but before Merlin could answer his phone rang. He pulled it out, apologising for having to answer when he saw it was Johnny.

“Arch. What is it John? I’m kind of in the middle of something.” Archy hummed a few times as response to whatever Johnny was saying and Merlin could now take a good look at the other man and see the difference between them. Not only the hair, but the whole demeanour of Archy was different to Merlin’s. He moved with a loose grace, flopping into his seat earlier and mostly hanging against things during the first meeting, Merlin recalled on reflection. He was also very obviously carrying a weapon, not strapped down but stuck down the back of his trousers. It was a flashy way of going about things, something Merlin absolutely despised. No, besides their looks Merlin didn’t share much with his table companion. While Archy was on the phone, Merlin’s tea arrived. It was spot on. He would have to remember this place, he thought to himself while Archy wrapped up the call and put away his phone.

“Christ, I leave him alone for like half an hour and he’s done something stupid already. Thank god I made sure he couldn’t touch any of the actually important papers ‘cause he would have set fire to them as well. As is, it was only a bit of carpeting and the sprinklers caught it pretty soon. That’ll teach him to fall asleep while smoking a fag on the sofa.” Archy sighed. “Where were we?”

Merlin shuffled his papers, deciding not to comment on whatever antics Johnny got up to. It would only lead to him telling Archy about all the asinine actions the Knights he’d seen in his career so far and that would not do. ‘Right, business’ he thought to himself and started explaining the NDAs.

The rest of their meeting went well. Archy still tried to get Merlin to open up a bit more about what Kingsman actually did, but didn’t get very far. He would make sure that everyone involved got one of the documents, signed one himself and gave Merlin the information needed for their payment. A full pot of tea later they parted ways after Merlin got the bill. Archy protested but didn’t get much of a chance to get in a word edgewise between the girl at the door and Merlin.

“Consider it a promise we’ll do business again. Next time you can pay” Merlin said to Archy once they were outside.

That won him a small smile and a firm handshake. “You’re on. Can I give you a lift?”

Merlin was spared from replying by a Kingsman cab pulling up just as Archy finished his question. He smiled and cocked his head towards the vehicle. “Thanks but I already have one. Until the next time.” He got in and Archy stayed on the pavement to watch him ride off. He knew there was something off about that cab but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. ‘Never mind, I seem to be getting another crack at figuring out more about this mystery organisation that little Eggsy joined after leaving the Marines’ he thinks to himself. He stopped himself just shy of whistling while he walked to the car that was idling around the corner.

 

 

Merlin got back to HQ and filed Archy’s NDA for future reference. When Roxy came in with a cup of his favourite tea blend (Assam in early afternoon, Lapsang if he had a long night at his desk ahead. If she was trying to get him to go to sleep at a reasonable hour, a soft afternoon blend or decaffeinated tea when he’s almost asleep on his keyboard. If they had lunch together, after a meeting in the morning, she joined him in a cup of Queen Anne’s from Fortnum. That was the one she liked the most and Merlin seemed to share her taste. Or at least didn’t let her notice he didn’t) at their scheduled meeting time of 2 pm, he can’t help himself from smiling a little. It seems she got the message he sent on the bullet train and wasn’t as pissed at him interfering as he had been worried about. The options she had worked out with the Wild bunch seemed solid and he commended her on them. Once that was out of the way, Roxy made her excuses. She had a meeting with Eggsy and Merlin really did have to get back to reviewing the reports of the hike of the candidates, didn’t he? Merlin agreed and hid his disappointment well. He got back to it but felt that next time, he should just ask her if she was ok with checking in with her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Several days passed, in which Merlin mostly had his hands full with the cohort. He caught his thoughts sometimes wandering to what Roxy was doing, shaking his head to get back on track.

Roxy had a similar problem, typing out several replies to his text but always deleting them again in between meetings, paperwork and sparring with Eggsy. If he or any of the other Knights noticed, they didn’t let Roxy know. They managed to ignore Eggsy and Harry’s flirting who seriously thought they were being subtle, so Roxy’s indecision to act on her budding feelings for Merlin didn’t seem to register much on anyone’s radar.

Finally Archy contacted Merlin, letting him know that the person who had taken the briefcase out of the locker in the Tube station was told to pick it up by his boss as punishment for something or other. His boss was one of the other ‘grey’ parts of London, so the courier hadn’t even dared to see what was inside, let alone figured out he had taken the wrong one. Thankfully he had been held off from delivering it by getting the flu. Now all that had to be done is have him be drawn out of his house for Roxy to break in and take it. She couldn’t find it in herself to feel sorry for the poor sod; he had gotten something wrong and would be facing the consequences, no matter what they did. Plans were made to go the next day, Roxy and Eggsy dismissed to have some rest before getting sent out. Merlin had a weird look in his eye when Eggsy dragged her out of the room after the meeting, promising to be her wingman just to get her out to go clubbing with him. She only just caught it before Merlin put his serious mask back on, but it lodged somewhere in the back of her mind for the rest of the evening.

They did go clubbing, eventually settling down in a small, private corner of a club, the VIP lounge, which was basically empty. She made sure to have some anti-alcohol pills beforehand, but decided they could let their hair down a bit. Mostly because their ‘mission’ was planned for 6PM the next evening and they could comfortably sleep in. They talked about anything but Kingsman, Eggsy making it a point to keep abreast of politics and Roxy making it a similar point to keep well away from politics. They usually settled on popular culture, swapping stories about stuff they had seen or read.

 

“So, how come you know all of these criminals in the London Underworld Eggsy?” Roxy eventually asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

He shrugged, onto his third pint of beer already while she was still only sips into her second glass. “The joys of growing up on an estate, I suppose?” He had talked a bit about his life before tonight, growing up with Dean after his dad died was usually only covered with “he was a dick, but mum thought she couldn’t get any better and alright, he did keep the roof over our heads but I don’t wanna know how”.

“Tell me” Roxy asked softly. He looked up from his glass, seeing that Roxy was curious, actually interested, not taking the piss as lots of people had done, even at Kingsman. He shrugged again, not knowing where to start.

“When I was 15, Dean kicked me out the door and told me to get earning cause I was a lazy little fucker that was big enough to pass for 17 so should get a job. I asked where I was supposed to find a job, and all he said was ‘either Smith Street or go annoy tourists on the West End’. I’d heard of what went on at Smith Street so resolutely went to the West End. I’d learnt how to pickpocket by then, so started taking money off the tourists that looked like they could miss it the most. You know the type; toffs who should know better then to walk around with stuffed wallets and ginormous cameras around their necks.” Roxy nodded. She knew the type. Half the friends she had in school were like that, as were her brothers’. If she hadn’t been careful, she would have turned into one herself. “Before I knew it, I was spotted by one of Tank’s lads. He basically runs all of the lads selling last minute tickets on the West End. Doesn’t like to be out on the cobbles himself, but he’s got connections.”

“Was that the reason Archy asked if you’d gone and seen him first?” Roxy asked. Eggsy nodded.

“Yeah, back then he was just one of the big names in the underworld, so to speak. Not in any way violent or nothing, but it wasn’t all above board. Nobody cared about it, as long as he made sure the tickets hadn’t been stolen from other punters, which he did. Nowadays he’s trying to go legit. Took one look at me in my new threads - I was careful not to put on my suit but even my jeans look posh nowadays - shook his head and told me that he understood what I was asking, but couldn’t help. He’s alright though, did ask me if I wanted any tickets, just for old time’s sake. So we can finally go see Les Mis if you wanna” he said, winking.

Roxy had to stop herself from squealing. She once told him, terribly drunk, that she loved it. But never got around seeing it in theaters. It was typical of him to remember. Instead she pushed him on the shoulder, prompting him to keep going with his story. “So? What happened next?”

Eggsy snorted into his beer. “He grabbed me by the scruff and marched me over to Tank’s car. He let me in and offered me a job. I took it but asked that he didn’t mention how much I made to Dean. That way I could keep some of it for myself before he nicked all of it. He said he would if ever Dean came knocking. He got me a job running around between his crew, collecting tickets from all the box offices around town. It stopped me from taking money off poshos by pickpocketing it. Taught me how to do that by selling them tickets at double the price instead after a while. I became one of his top sellers. He was dead upset when I joined the Marines, but he got me trying to get out.” Eggsy took a long sip, Roxy and him both lost in thought. Roxy found her voice first.

“And now you’re here. Drinking with some posh toff while still keeping it real” she said, only half joking. It was Eggsy turn to shove her.

“Oh less of the attitude please. Go get us another drink, will you? I need to hear about what you said to Merlin to make him look so grumpy, according to Harry.” Roxy huffed but got up anyway. It would be a good moment to think about what to say to Eggsy about it. She was sure he’d understand having a crush on something of a mentor, looking at how he adored Harry and the feeling was obviously mutual, but she wasn’t certain about his support about her trying it on with Merlin. At times he seemed utterly inhuman, but sometimes some of the care he took of her, of all of his charges, would seep through. She’d think of something to say, eventually. Luckily the bar was packed so she had time.

If she was honest with herself, she didn’t think her comment would impact Merlin much. By the time she got back to the table, though, Eggsy was distracted enough by something going on in the corner of the bar that she was spared to answer his question. It stuck in the back of her mind for the rest of the night though. Why did her reaction bother Merlin enough for it to be so easily noticeable?

They eventually went home at closing time, Eggsy giving Roxy a chaste kiss on her cheek before she went up the stairs to her front door, gallantly waiting until she was inside before turning towards his own place. They lived not that far apart but Eggsy always insisted he walk her home. Not that he thought she wouldn’t be able to handle herself, he immediately admitted when she called him out on it, but because it was the proper thing to do. She’d huffed at his explanation, but secretly thought is was cute. Like he was her big brother or something.

When Roxy closed her door she sighed, putting her handbag down on the side table and threw off her shoes. Grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen, she finally got undressed and settled into bed. The next day would be intense enough to warrant sleeping for at least 10 hours, so she decided against setting her alarm.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

 

The next day she got to the office around noon, meeting Eggsy, Arthur and some of the other Knights in the dining room for lunch. Merlin was, Arthur told Percival when asked, still running the recruits through their drills, so wouldn’t be joining them. He would be running the mission from HQ and would check in with Roxy through the normal comm systems at 6PM, just as their distraction should have started. She nodded while she ate, signaling she had gotten the message.

After lunch she updated the paperwork she had ditched for having another drink with the Wild Bunch and smiled to herself thinking of Bob.

The flirting didn’t really stop after she heard about his ‘boyfriend’, but it became a much more interesting game to play. Mumbles had looked on with a smile as well, seeing them spar with each other.

Getting a message on her screen distracted her from reminiscing. Merlin, it seemed, wanted her to get kitted out for the mission in about an hour, so she could meet up with the team/the Wild Bunch in 2 hours at the Speeler. She replied with a short message back, her paperwork attached and powered everything down. Getting everything she needed for the burglary she had to do that night didn’t take very long, giving her time to go passed Eggsy’s office who was bogged down in his office tackling his own paper trail. He was rubbish at doing it asap, leaving everything for an enormous day-long-session once a month. Waving at him as she passed his open door, he shouted at her to wait for a second.

“You off to play cat burglar?” he asked her, grinning wide.

“I’m off to get back that damned suitcase, if that’s what you mean, yes”

He gently pushed at her shoulder. “Come on, I know you love doing shit like this. Makes you feel like Catwoman or summat, doesn’t it”

Roxy wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of an answer, choosing instead to glare at him. “Is there something you needed me for except make bad jokes?”

Eggsy harrumphed at her, not impressed by the look on her face, still grinning like a loon. He stopped being scared of her a week into training, but that didn’t stop her from making sure he knew that she didn’t appreciate his comments so far.

“Alright, be like that. To be fair, you look amazing in one of those catsuits” he answered, getting a shove for his troubles. “Alright, alright, dropping the subject already!” he said with a smile. “I was wondering if you could pass a message to Bob for me, since you’re going to the Speeler.”

She arched her eyebrow at his request. “Do I look like a messaging service?”

Eggsy sighed. “It’s in your interest, I promise. Tell ‘m that I got the tickets from Tank for him, since I went to see him anyway to get us tickets for Les Mis next week. Don’t have to tell him the last bit, but he if he gives me a ring we can sort out where and when he can come pick them up. Just tell him that and give him my phone number. I even put it on a card for you already. Alright?” he said, holding out a business card with just Eggsy’s mobile number on it.

“Fine. I’ll tell him” Roxy replied, grabbing the card from his hand. “Now, are you done? Can I go to work now?” she asked, still slightly peeved at being used at a messenger. She wouldn’t show him how excited she was about going to the theatre, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction, so she masked it with grumpiness.

“Yes, you can. I’ll let you know when you need the night off AND we’re going shopping beforehand. I won’t be seen with you in a suit there, so you’re wearing a dress, like it or not” he said with a final looking nod, like she wouldn’t want to wear a dress but had to because he had said so.

Roxy exhaled loudly, overreacting just to get a rise out of her friend. “Fine. Now sod off back to your paperwork before it all falls off your desk. Goodbye!” she said, pushing him back inside before striding off down the hall.

“You’re the best Catwoman!” Eggsy hollored after her, making Roxy shake her head and flipping him off without looking around. Checking her watch, she found that she would be just in time if she got one of the cabs. Signalling for one with one of the options on her watch, she got downstairs. Nodding to the tailor as she went passed, her ride stopped just outside at the curb as she went down the steps from the shop.

“Evening miss” the driver said when he got out to open the door for her.

She didn’t have to instruct him where to go, keeping the need for small talk down to the minimum. Merlin made it a point to have all their drivers updated with the destinations any of the Knights might need to go, something that was mostly nice when coming down from a tense mission, Roxy had found. Before long she was pulling up to the Speeler, getting out after having the door opened for her. She told the driver to head back to base, before addressing Bob, who was standing outside the door, smoking.

 

“Hello gorgeous” he said with a smile.

Roxy smirked at him, ready to continue with their little game of cat and mouse. “Don’t start, I’m working. Is the rest upstairs?”

He shrugged in reply and crushed his cigarette under his shoe to put it out.

“Come on then, let’s go. If we hurry, I might consider letting you buy me a drink later” she said, already walking up to the door.

“Why didn’t you say so?” he grinned, pushing the doorbell to get them inside. “Come on Cookie, let us in! I’m on a promise tonight!” he said after a gruff voice asked him what he wanted over the intercom. A groan followed after which the door buzzed to let them in.

“Ladies first” Bob said, holding the door open for Roxy. She shook her head at him but went before him up the stairs nevertheless.

The whole gang, that is to say, One-Two, Mumbles and about 15 people she didn’t recognize were hanging against various pieces of furniture when she came in. Bob was right behind her, introducing her to Cookie and the other people who were going to provide the distraction for her to burgle the house of their mark before anyone could make any comments. Still she could feel the looks all of the men and some of the women were giving her. It was a feeling she knew well, but had learnt to ignore.

“Well, now we’re all here, I’d say we get going. Everyone know their cues and what they’re supposed to do?” Roxy said to the room at large. She was met with some mumbling and nodding. Mumbles took it as a cue to start herding people out, winking at Roxy as he passed at the back of the small crowd. One-Two gave her a quick nod as he followed, leaving her alone with Bob once again.

“Don’t you have something to do as well?” she asked as she sat down on one of the abandoned chairs around a small table.

“I do, as a matter of fact. And it’s driving you to where you need to be. I volunteered” he answered with a grin.

Roxy rolled her eyes at him. “Come on then, let’s go. It should be a 10 minute drive and I need another 5 to get all my gear in the right place. That should be just about enough time to get that courier out of his house, don’t you think?”

Bob nodded. Roxy grabbed her bag and went to leave, Bob trailing behind her. Once they were downstairs, he led the way to a beat up car that was obviously made to not stand out much in this part of town. They didn’t talk much during the ride. Roxy was busy with putting all her tools in the pouches on her belt and Bob seemed to know that it wouldn’t be a good idea to disturb her much. Before too long they rolled into the street where there was definitely something going on at the other end. She could pick out some of the faces from afar and it seemed that this part of their plan had gone off like clockwork. Putting in her earwig, she doffed her glasses and gave them to Bob.

“Thank you Lancelot, right on time as usual. It seems that you have about 15 minutes to obtain our objective. Do you need any assistance from me besides clouding the CCTV?” Merlin said calmly in her ear as soon as she turned the device on.

“No, not at the moment, thank you. I’ll let you know if I need anything else” Roxy answered while nodding to Bob.

“Alright then, circle the block once or twice, Bob, Merlin will tell you when I’m about to be outside and you can pick me up again. Play nice, alright, don’t distract him too much, he’s multitasking” she said, getting a wink in reply.

“Sure thing. Have fun” he answered.

Opening the door, Roxy waved at him while she moved outside, happy to see that he had parked right outside the alley next to the building she would have to scale. It was one of the more modern places, so no fire escape, but still with enough footholds and closed windows all the way to the top. Roxy took a quick look at her gear and decided against throwing a hook to the roof. She only needed to be on fourth floor of the six and actually free climbing would be easier and faster. Before long she was making her way inside the flat of their courier through the window. Using a magnet she maneuvered the latch to open through the glass, pausing to put it away when Merlin coughed in her ear.

“He doesn’t have much of security and the normal alarm hasn’t been activated as he left, but he does have a camera in the upper right hand corner of the room. Give me 10 seconds to loop it and then you should be good to go.”

“Copy” Roxy replied, her hand on the bottom of the window to open it as soon as Merlin gave her the go-ahead.

It felt like a lot more than 10 seconds, but eventually Merlin just said “Go” and Roxy took 5 seconds to get inside. She knew that there had to be a safe somewhere in the main bedroom, which was next to the room she had ended up in. As soon as she entered the room, she couldn’t help herself; she grinned widely at how obvious the hiding place had been placed to her trained eye. Plus, she loved cracking safes. Pulling the painting down from the wall, she took stock of what she needed to work with.

“Would you care timing me, Merlin? I need to see if I can break Eggsy’s record on these buggers” she said, sotto voce.

Merlin scoffed at her words. “Sometimes I wonder why I participate in this ridiculous competition of Knights, but alright, I’ll time you. Starting in 3…2…1… Go and also action”

Roxy got to work, grinning at the way he had started her off. Eggsy had, once a Knight, flatly refused to do anything competitive with Merlin keeping score in extra training without hearing action. It was mostly to annoy Merlin, he had once confessed to Roxy, but also because he still felt like a filmstar at times.

42 Seconds later she had the thing open, grabbing her Geiger counter from her belt to check if she had to put the case she came for in the extra protection she had folded into one of the pouches. It gave off some radiation, so she put it in the protective backpack after checking if it really was the right case. Even though the Geiger counter told her as much, she didn’t want to be the one who brought back the wrong thing this time.

They had gotten a fake case to replace it, which was in the backpack as well. As she placed that into the safe, something glittering caught her eye.

“Oh, nice...” she whispered. It was a tapered choker, diamonds and onyx stones alternating.

“Lancelot, the whole point of this mission is to not have the mark realize we took his case. Taking that necklace would alert him right away” Merlin nearly groaned in frustration.

“Yes, yes, I know. Doesn’t mean I can’t admire it, alright?” Roxy replied prickly. She of course knew it would be stupid to take it with her, but she made sure to remember it to find something similar for her next shopping trip.

“Just get out of there asap, the riot outside is almost breaking up, so he’ll be back in 3 to 4 minutes.”

Roxy sighed. “I’m going, I’m going!”

2 Minutes later she was almost down on the ground again when Bob pulled up to her. Jumping the last few feet, Roxy made her way over without being seen.

“You’re cute when you jump off stuff like a cat, you know that?” was the first thing he said when she got into the passenger seat.

That got him a small tap to the side of his head from Roxy, prompting him to start grinning.

“Just go, alright. Flirting can wait, I’ve got to get this to our courier first.”

Bob threw her a salute while he pulled out into the street, pulling off his glasses and handing them over passed his shoulder to Roxy. She put them in her case while Merlin signed off.

“Well done, Lancelot. I’ve told Bob to head back to the Speeler, our man will be outside to takeover the backpack from you. Feel free to take the night off, debrief will be at 8 AM tomorrow.”

“Thank you Merlin, efficient as always. Lancelot out” Roxy replied. There had been something off about his tone of voice, but she couldn’t quite place it, so decided to leave it for now. She had promised Bob a drink, and felt like going out to celebrate for a few hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Necklace: https://www.1stdibs.com/jewelry/necklaces/choker-necklaces/marina-j-green-onyx-beaded-woven-choker/id-j_2997453/


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

“Cheers!” shouted by several people was the first thing Merlin was greeted with when he walked into the Speeler. Eggsy had preceded him to the bar, wanting to catch up with Roxy and some of the lads he seemingly knew that were part of their little distraction. It had all gone to plan, thankfully, and the young man had told him to “let his hair, or in your case, stubble, down for a night before they went back to bigger fish that needed frying”.

Merlin had glared at his phrasing, but relented after Eggsy told him that the recruits were settled for the night, out on a hike again, so he might as well come say hello and settle everything with Archy on the business end while having a pint. He told him he would be out in an hour, telling Eggsy to get a Scotch out for him WITHOUT ice.

As soon as Merlin walked over to the lad, he got a full glass of Scotch thrusted into his hands.

“I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away guv” Eggsy said with a wink.

He was already obviously a few pints ahead of Merlin, who decided to take one of the barstools and sit down to survey the place properly. It seemed like most bars in town, slightly messy, full of people and empty beer glasses abound. Eggsy let him be, turning back to some of the ‘Wild Bunch’ who seemed to be reliving the days the lad was still running around for someone called Tank. He seemed to have been dabbling in less than legal ways of selling theatre tickets, something Merlin decidedly ignored. Whatever his Knights had done in the past, it wasn’t his responsibility, only what they did under his watch. He was mostly happy to hear that Eggsy hadn’t had to resort to less savoury ways of making money, like some lads had had to do back in Glasgow. At times like these, he really wanted to hurt the old Arthur for letting the boy, which he still was back then, and his mother fend for themselves. It had ended up well, but he didn’t like to think about what could have happened instead.

After a few minutes he wondered where Roxy was. He had given her the evening off, and thought that she would be the reason for Eggsy coming here. The thought occurred to him to ring or text her, but thought that might be overstepping once again. Seeing that even Harry had called him overbearing at times, that would only lead to another dressing down by Roxy. He ordered another drink, having drained his first one fairly quickly.

Taking a few sips to think over his options, Merlin tapped Eggsy on the shoulder, the question burning on his lips.

“Where’s Roxy, I don’t see her?”

Eggsy shrugged, turning around slowly to see if he could find her.

“She went out with Bob earlier, said she owed him a drink or something.”

His reply made someone snicker behind Merlin, sitting at the bar.

“Yeah right, just a drink. Don’t think you’ll be seeing her anymore tonight, mate” the man said.

Merlin was fairly sure his face didn’t betray the feeling that insinuation made him feel, but made sure to take a second before turning around. In the meantime, Eggsy had reacted already.

“Oi, it’s not like that you tosser! Roxy’s a proper lady and she’d deck him if he tried anything funny, and Bob knows it.”

The other man shrugged. “Suit yourself. Still think he might try something, with his rep and everything...” he mumbled.

That made Merlin turn around in earnest.

“How do you mean, with his rep?” he asked, ice in his tone.

Before Merlin could hear the man’s answer, he felt an arm on his shoulder.

“What he means, is that Bob has a certain reputation around people who don’t have a fucking clue what they’re talking about” Archy said from behind Merlin. The man almost withered, grabbing his drink and moving to the end of the bar while muttering apologies. “Sorry Arch, I’ll leave you be, won’t I?”

Merlin didn’t even have to tell his doppelganger to let go, he did that as soon as the other man moved. Merlin turned back around, eyebrow arched in question.

“Come on, I’ll get you another drink and we’ll catch up.” Archy motioned towards one of the tables in the corner of the room, obviously wanting to speak to Merlin in private. Merlin nodded, content with waiting for an answer until they were seated and he had another scotch in his hand.

They started off talking in general terms about how the mission had gone. Merlin had brought their ‘finders fee’ which he handed over under the table while they spoke. Archy didn’t seem to be too bothered about it, smoothly putting it in his jacket pocket. Merlin was still not sure about what he had to think about Roxy off with another man, but decided to put it in the back of his mind for now.

“I’m happy Eggsy landed on his feet with you lot, to be honest.”

At Merlin’s look of surprise at the sudden declaration, Archy shrugged.

“His step-dad was a right piece of work, but I wasn’t in much of a position to do something about it, bigger problems to deal with unfortunately. But Tank told me if he got in too much trouble and me or some of the lads would take care that it wasn’t something he wouldn’t get out of on his own. If Eggsy’d gotten out from under Dean’s thumb, properly, I would have hated to have to compete with the little tyke” he said, ending with a grin and holding out his drink for a toast. Merlin obliged.

“To looking out for ‘m”

“Cheers” was Merlin’s gruff reply.

They shared a few minutes of silence, before Merlin’s hands started itching again to grab his phone and check up on Ro- damn it, Lancelot.

“She’s very good, the boys told me.” Archy eventually said, catching Merlin’s unrest. “There was a small brawl going on when she got in here, which only got worse when one of them accidentally hit her with an elbow as she got in. She just started knocking fellows out as she went over to the bar, not even breaking a sweat before ordering a drink for all of them and a bunch of ice packs if they promised to “stop behaving like 5-year-olds”. She can handle herself, don’t worry about it.”

Merlin huffed. “I’m not worried about her getting hurt, I’m worried about getting charmed into doing something stupid by that man who with a reputation that you still haven’t told me entails” he said, letting his displeasure be known, courtesy of the three Scotches he had under his belt by now.

He was surprised, and by the sound of it, so was most of the bar, by Archy’s loud laugh at his confession.

“You really think Bob’s trying to get into her pants right now?” he eventually asks.

A grunt is all he got as an answer, Merlin looking at his drink while he swirls his glass.

“His reputation is just that; talk from idiots who don’t know him. You shouldn’t worry, honest.” At Merlin’s unbelieving look, he leans closer, whispering in Merlin’s ear.

“I’ve been seeing Bob for a while now. He’s not interested and even if he was, he’d know better than cheating on me so obviously.”

Merlin puts the glass down with a hard thump. Archy leans back into his chair.

“Don’t spread it around too much, will you.”

Merlin nods, still dumbfounded by Archy’s words. He takes a slow sip from his drink and Archy lets him. They spent a few moments in silence, Archy eventually motioning them back to the the bar. If Eggsy noticed anything, he’s not showing it, getting Merlin another drink. He’s about to say something when the door gets thrown open and bangs against the wall.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

In the meantime, Bob and Roxy are in a club downtown, dancing close to each other, both keeping interested parties away from the other, but Bob makes sure not to actually touch Roxy too much. It feels like she’s out with one of her girlfriends, if she’s honest to herself, letting him decide the rhythm and getting dragged off the floor as soon as something slow starts, to get a drink.

“Wodka-tonic, please” she tells him before he has a chance to ask her what she wants. She couldn’t really help herself to say it the first time, just to go with the idea that she really is a proper spy, which earned her a big smile from Bob. It helps that she likes it as well, so she stuck to it for the rest of the night. Once he gets their drinks from the barman, he motions her over to one of the high tables further down the bar.

“So, anyone else you usually do this with or am I your only choice for dancing?” he asks with a grin.

Roxy rolls her eyes as she takes a sip. “You weren’t my last choice, so shut it. I still owed you a drink and seeing I have the night off, I thought I’d take you up on it. But yes, there are other people I go out with, but my normal dancing partner is at the Speeler right now, catching up with your mates.”

“You mean Merlin?” he asked, prompting Roxy to spit out her drink. “Oh yeah, Archy told me they look very alike” he said with a faraway look on his face.

Once she was recovered, Roxy hoped her blush wasn’t too visible in the dark club.

“You think Merlin would want to dance with me? I meant Eggsy.”

“Come on, you seriously saying you wouldn’t want a night plastered up against someone like that?” Bob asked, nudging Roxy with his shoulder. Seeing Roxy shrug weakly, his joking tone became more careful. “You mean that you like him, like him? Not just for dancing but in general?”

Roxy pulled up one of her shoulder to signal her agreement, even though she couldn’t say it out loud just yet.

“Bloody hell” Bob replied, setting his drink down in shock. “Does he know? Or feel the same way?”

Another shrug.

“I don’t know?” Roxy said, uncertain for the first time Bob had ever seen her.

“Do you think he might know but not want to act on it?”

Another shrug.

“Tell you what, if he does know or even feels the same way, you should take action. Let him know. Arch played hard to get for a long time as well, until I roped in one of my lawyer friends at a party we were both at.” He paused to smile at Roxy, trying to convey that he felt she should give it a chance.

“Getting dragged into a bathroom by Archy and snogged within an inch of my life is something that still feeds the fantasies” he said, dreamy look on his face.

“So just go for it. Even if it doesn’t come to anything, I’ve seen enough of how tough you are that you’ll recover eventually. And if you need to get away from him, you’re welcome to join the gang and bodyguard for Johnny. After seeing you mow through the Speeler earlier, you should have an easy job of looking grumpy and breaking some wrists if need be.”

That won him a smile and a small shove.

“I’ll tell him. Alright? But first I need another drink.”

 

By the time they ended up back at Speeler, Roxy had had some liquid courage but didn’t quite feel it yet. But, she was a Kingsman. She could do anything. Even say to someone who wasn’t actually her boss but a coworker, as she found out after taking the mantle, that she fancied him. Seeing him in the flesh, though, drinking and laughing with Eggsy and Mumbles, was a whole other thing though. Before she knew it, Bob was pulling her forward by the arm to the bar, where Eggsy immediately throws his arms around her.

Archy sidles over to Merlin, seeing his discomfort at seeing Roxy again.

“Ask no questions, you’d hear no lies”

“That can backfire on you, you know”

“Anything you’d like to share with the class?”

“Not particularly”

“Just take my advice, when you really want to know something, ask. Don’t assume. I was an idiot when it came to Bob and took ages too long to figure out that he actually fancied me. Could have had the best shag of my life much sooner”

“Ugh. Don’t. I don’t wanna know.”

Archy smiled that sly smile of his at his companion’s disgusted look.

“See, you could have just not said anything and you would have been spared that specific mental image”.

Merlin was spared from replying by Roxy coming over to them. Archy made himself scarce with a nod to Roxy, which she smilingly returned.

 

“So, you’ve been making friends as well, I see?” Merlin managed to say, mostly out of spite.

Roxy nodded. “Yes, I have. But I was wondering if I could ask you, an old friend, something as well.”

Merlin cocked his head at her sort-of question. She took it as permission to keep talking.

“Because, you see, Bob there is an amazing dancer,” she said, waving her hand over to where the other man had taken up a seat at the bar, “but it made me wonder if I’ve ever seen you dance.”

Merlin sniffed. “No, you wouldn’t have. Do you…” he began, not trusting his voice in asking her what she meant. Hoping it was what he thought wouldn’t make it true if she didn’t feel the same, so he let her take control of the conversation.

“If you want to ask if I would want to dance with you, the answer’s yes. Dance, and see if we can find a rhythm outside of work together, if you get my drift” she asked, looking straight into his eyes.

Merlin swallowed, daring to hope now. He slowly put his hand up and moved it to Roxy’s cheek, caressing it with his thumb as she closed her eyes and sighed at the sensation.

“Aye, lass, I do” he said softly and moved in to kiss her. It was a chaste, soft kiss, but full of promise. By the time they had both opened their eyes again, Roxy could just see Eggsy almost fall of his barstool in surprise and start clapping. Several whistles sounded, the loudest one from Bob while Archy lifted his drink as a salute to both of them.

Roxy turned to the bar at large, Merlin having let go of her face to put his arm around her shoulders, and glared at everyone in the bar. The whistles died down right away but the Wild Bunch plus Eggsy were all still wearing a grin from ear to ear.

“Come on lass, let’s go and see about that dance” Merlin whispered in her ear, making Roxy instantly go weak in the knees. Oh yes, finding a rhythm would probably not be that hard, but it wouldn’t be very long before they ended up in the situation Bob had mentioned to her earlier. And Roxy found she couldn’t find it in herself to mind very much, smiling at herself while Merlin whisked her away.


End file.
